Knickers off!

People have been reading proof copies of CUCKOO. People I don’t know, as well as people I do know.

In both instances it feels like taking my knickers off in public.

One of the most disconcerting readers is BigSon, who has been sitting beside me on planes etc these holidays with it glued to his face, stopping every now and then to tell me that he likes a passage. He seems to be steaming through it faster than he does most books (it took him about three months to read FREEDOM, and he still hasn’t finished it).… read more

The First Reader

What a first reader looks like

What a first reader looks like

When the first proof copies of Cuckoo were distributed, I likened the feeling to taking my knickers off in public.**

But I have found something in this writing process far more challenging even than that, and two weeks ago, on holiday on France, I had to go through it again.

The most difficult part is the very first read.

Well, not the very first read – I do that myself, obviously (and god knows, that’s hard enough).… read more